Bob Valdez Named New ARHQ Director

On February 22, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announced that Robert “Bob” Otto Valdez had been appointed as the agency’s director and would assume leadership responsibilities immediately. Dr. Valdez comes to the agency with a lengthy career in health disparities research and policy, having previously been the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health and Director of Interagency Health Policy during the Clinton Administration. He has also served as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Professor Emeritus of Family & Community Medicine and Economics at the University of New Mexico and led several global health initiatives focused on health promotion and disease prevention among Hispanic Americans and Spanish speaking populations. A bio of Dr. Valdez is available on the AHRQ website.